The registration deadline for artists to participate in Morgan Hill Open Studios this fall is fast approaching, and organizers say they have already seen strong interest in the event.
Morgan Hill Open Studios is scheduled for 10am to 4pm Nov. 6-7. Each participating artist will be displayed on a Google map created for the event, allowing attendees to easily find the local creators.
An online preview event is scheduled for 7pm Oct. 28. Artists will be asked to attend so they can talk about their art and introduce themselves in order to allow attendees and art lovers to plan their itinerary on Nov. 6-7.
The Morgan Hill Open Studios tour will allow art enthusiasts to visit artists at their own homes or studios, or at select centralized public venues, according to organizers. Artists will have their creations on display for viewing or sale, and some will perform demonstrations of their works. Artists from Morgan Hill, Gilroy and San Martin are invited, and the tour is free for spectators and shoppers.
Suman Ganapathy, one of the organizers of Morgan Hill Open Studios, said they have received more interest than expected from artists wanting to showcase in public locations—such as the Community & Cultural Center, downtown popup park and local wineries—due to Covid-19 concerns.
“We think that this will help both the artists and visitors who will have to drive to fewer places since the event is for only six hours per day,” Ganapathy said in an email.
Morgan Hill Open Studios is organized by a committee of artists and volunteers, including members of the city’s Library, Culture and Arts Commission.
In the coming weeks, the Morgan Hill Times and Open Studios committee will feature a number of artists who have signed up for the Nov. 6-7 Open Studios tour. This week, we feature Morgan Hill artists Rob Guynn and Jennifer Blalack.
For information about Morgan Hill Open Studios, visit tinyurl.com/c2r42zet.
Jennifer Blalack
The winner of the Open Studios logo contest, Blalack’s design features colors and shapes reminiscent of Morgan Hill’s poppy jasper mineral and El Toro mountain.
Blalack says that in her digital and non-digital art practice, her purpose is to bring beauty, pleasure and interest to the beholder. She works with mixed media and uses many layers in her work because “each layer is transformative and surprising.” Her work is characterized as intuitive because she “does not begin with an end in sight, but rather begins at the beginning and works to discover the end.”
Rob Guynn
A local artist and photographer who has sold more than 1,200 paintings, Rob Guynn has many collectors, including famed actor and director Clint Eastwood.
Guynn’s influences include Salvador Dali, Evind Earle and Kandinsky. His paintings range from photo realism to surrealism, and he works in a variety of media including acrylics, oils, watercolors and airbrushing.
